Tag: Statue

From the Hollywood Walk of Fame to a humble English pub, the craze for stealing Marilyn sculptures (and sometimes murals) continues apace. The latest victim was snatched from outside The Anchor in Darwen, as Amy Farnworth reports for the Lancashire Telegraph. So do thieves really prefer blondes?

“Staff had bolted Marilyn to one of their coloured benches around two weeks ago as part of Thwaites’ Pubs in Bloom competition, in which pub bosses had also adorned the outside of the building with flowers.

But in the early hours of Tuesday morning, brazen thieves had obviously fancied themselves some ‘Monkey Business’, and nicked the beloved statue.

Landlord Lance Montgomery, who bought the blonde bombshell from eBay for a party around two years ago, said his customers loved taking selfies with Marilyn.

She even held punters’ pints for them when she lived in the pool room.

Mr Montgomery, who has run the Bolton Road pub with his wife, Melissa, for seven years, without an ‘itch’, said: ‘This is the first time anything’s been stolen from the front of the pub.’

Mr Montgomery said the whole thing was captured on CCTV, which has now been handed to the police to assist them with their investigations.

‘I always try and do things a bit controversial with the pub and the customers love it, so this isn’t going to stop me in the future, but we just want Marilyn back.’

Anyone with any information about Marilyn’s whereabouts should contact the police on 101 quoting log 0089 of July 30.”

When it comes to public art, it seems that some folks just can’t keep their hands off Marilyn. This isn’t the first theft – in the past few years, we’ve reported stolen statues in Auckland, New Zealand; Devizes, UK; a Warhol screenprint in Staten Island, NY; and a mural in Victoria, Canada – and it probably won’t be the last, but it’s surely the most egregious yet. Created by Catherine Hardwicke and unveiled in 1994, the ‘Four Ladies of Hollywood‘ is a gazebo entry to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, upheld by four movie queens of multi-ethnicity (Mae West, Dorothy Dandridge, Anna May Wong and Dolores Del Rio), and topped by a gilded, miniature Marilyn ‘weathervane’ with her skirt blowing, à la Seven Year Itch.

Whether this heinous act of vandalism was perpetrated by a misguided fan or professional art thief, I urge them to return it immediately. Marilyn’s image is synonymous with Hollywood history and however much some individuals may want to have a piece of her, this work of art belongs to all of us. You can watch a TV news report here.

“LAPD detectives, including a forensics expert, and the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived at the scene at the Hollywood and La Brea Gateway to assist LAPD with the investigation … A ladder was hoisted up above to allow the forensic scientist to climb to the top of the crime scene.

‘I am calling this the great Marilyn caper of 2019,’ said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. ‘We have a witness who saw someone climb this structure and saw off the statue at the top and it’s a Marilyn Monroe image.’

‘It’s not okay to come and vandalize public art,’ O’Farrell said.

LAPD Hollywood division detective Douglas Oldfield said forensics already found some evidence in the case.

‘We got a few prints with our experts up there,’ said LAPD detective Douglas Oldfield. ‘We noticed the suspect used the Ws as footing. It [the sculpture] means something to the community and we’re going to investigate this to the best of our ability.'”

A statue of Marilyn has been stolen in New Zealand, as Meghan Lawrence reports for Auckland Now. (Marilyn-related art thefts are not uncommon: an English statue was stolen in 2011, while a Canadian mural vanished in 2014, and was found in a dumpster two weeks later. Sadly, it was stolen again in 2015.)

“Farm Cove’s iconic mascot has gone walkabout.

A six-foot tall (1.82m) statue of Marilyn Monroe was taken from a Fisher Parade residence in East Auckland on the night of October 13.

Maria Ross says the statue is part of a collection of rock n’ roll and pop-culture memorabilia that decorates her home. Ross purchased the statue of Marilyn Monroe a year ago, after she had been looking to add the American actress to her collection for a number of years.

She has stood in the front garden ever since, for passersby to bask in her glory.

‘She was loved and admired by all. Some more than others,’ she says. ‘People who drive past will stop and take photos with her. It’s so cool because you get to know the neighbourhood. She is just famous in Farm Cove.’

Ross says she’s ‘really gutted’ that the statue was stolen, but there would be no questions asked if she was returned.

‘I do believe someone is going to see her. There is not a lot of them in New Zealand. I think there is only one other, so it will stand out like a sore thumb.’

‘It would just be so awesome if she was returned.'”

UPDATE: The statue has now been returned almost two months after its disappearance – albeit a little worse for wear, reports the Auckland Times.

“The statue of Marilyn Monroe, a former Hollywood screen siren and model, stands at more than 1.8m (6 feet) and weighs around 80kg.

‘It would have taken two or more people to get her into a truck or trailer,’ she said.

On Sunday night Ms Ross posted on social media: ‘OMG!!!!! Marilyn was dropped off tonight and as promised…No Questions Asked!!’

‘Reward Requested and I paid it.’

She said the statue was a little bit worse for wear, with eyelashes cut off and a ‘few cuts n bruises’.

‘She is split down one side. They have obviously dropped her,’ Ms Ross said.”

Sam Shaw, photographer and friend to Marilyn, was born almost 100 years ago, on January 15, 1912. A newly relaunched Shaw Family Archives website have announced a variety of exciting projects marking this important anniversary. including: 100 Photos for Press Freedom, a magazine tribute; a statue based on Shaw’s most famous shot of Marilyn, on location for The Seven Year Itch, to be placed in the French city of Boulogne-Sur-Mer; the ongoing ‘Marilyn in New York‘ subway exhibit; and Shaw’s inclusion in the Ferragamo Museum’s Monroe exhibit, which ends on January 28th.

Interestingly, the Shaw family recently collaborated with art publisher Taschen on a tribute to James Bond. Imagine what they could do for Marilyn!